Anatomy of a Nightmare - M J Marlow (i read a book .txt) 📗

hands in his and there was honest joy in his expression. “This is the best news you could give me!”
“I – I thought you’ be displeased,” Lily admitted to him, confused by his behavior. “You said we should wait until the right time.”
“But this is the absolute best time for this to happen, sweetheart,” Ambrose told her. “The voters are going to be quite ecstatic at the news that their mayoral candidate and his wife are expecting a child!” He kissed her again. “Thank you, darling. I knew I could count on you!” He looked at Esme. “You are going to have to take especially good care of my pretty wife, Esme.”
“Ambrose!” a man waved from across the room. “Join us.”
“I have to meet with the campaign committee now, darling,” Ambrose said as he rose. “I’ll be home for dinner and we’ll celebrate.” He kissed her on the cheek. “Ladies.”
They watched him walk across the room and join the four other men at a table in the corner. He said something and the other men slapped him on the back and shook his hand. Their pleased laughter floated back to them and Lily burst into tears.
“He’s only happy because this child will make him look good,” Lily cried. Evelyn put her arms around her and let her cry. “I’m never going to be free of him!”
“If you want to leave him,” Evelyn told her sister firmly; “we are going to make that happen for you!”
The campaigning began the very next day and Lily stood at his side at his rallies and benefits over the next six months and played the loving and docile wife. The voters saw a beautiful young woman on their candidate’s arm and fell in love with her; especially as her pregnancy progressed. The only bright spots in her life were Esme and Evelyn. True to her word, Evelyn became her staunchest supporter and truest friend. They spent every moment she was not required to be at Ambrose’s side together.
“I’m thinking green,” Lily said as they met with the decorator who was getting the nursery together one afternoon before a political dinner. She pulled out her sketch pad. “Something like this?”
“Mrs. Ambrose,” the decorator looked it over and smiled. “This is really good. Have you ever thought of becoming a decorator yourself?”
“The only place I would ever be allowed to do so is in my own home,” Lily sighed. She put aside her depression. “You really think they’re good?”
“So good,” the woman smiled at Lily, “that we are going to use your ideas. You don’t mind if I throw in a few touches of my own?”
“No,” Lily shook her head, bemused by the praise from a professional. “Please do so.” She looked at her watch. “We just have time for a snack,” she told Evelyn, “before I have to go home and get ready for that dinner.”
“You should tell Ambrose you’re not going,” Evelyn said as she looked at her sister worriedly. “You’re not looking well. You need to rest.”
“I’ll get through it.” Lily put her hand to her back as she rose. “I’ll be all…” She cried out suddenly and doubled over. “Evie!”
“We’re taking you to the hospital,” Evelyn said as Lily began to shake. They got to her car and she roared off, nearly taking out the front of a patrol car that was coming down the street. The driver put on his siren and followed, but she was not stopping. When they got to the hospital, Edward got out of the patrol car and carried his sister inside. “My sister is having difficulties. She’s six months along and she’s having cramps.”

“We’ll take care of your sister, Officer Randall,” the ER doctor nodded. He began barking orders and left Evelyn and Edward standing behind. A nurse pointed them to the waiting room but Lily’s screams headed them in her direction and they refused to leave.
“It was close,” the obstetrician who had been called down told them as Ambrose came running. “Your wife is going to have to be put on bed rest, Mr. Ambrose, if you don’t want her losing this child. We’ll keep her here for a day or to make certain her condition stabilizes before we release her.”
“Thank you, Doctor,” Ambrose nodded and tightened his grip on Lily’s hands. He stroked her cheek and was the very picture of the loving and worried husband. “My poor darling,” he crooned to her. “We are going to do everything we can to see that nothing happens to you and our child; aren’t we, Evelyn?”
“Count on it,” Evelyn nodded. She smiled at Lily. “You’ll be a captive audience now. I’ll be able to run all my ideas for the wedding past you.” She kissed Lily on the cheek. “I have to get to one of father’s dreary fundraisers. I’ll call in on you tomorrow.” She smiled at Edward, who was lounging in the doorway. “You aren’t going to give me a ticket, are you, Officer Randall?”
“Seeing you were helping my sister,” Edward smiled at the woman, “I’ll let you go with a warning this time.” He went to Lily and kissed her on the forehead. “You’re going to be all right, Lily. Get some rest.” He nodded stiffly to Ambrose and left.
“You were told not to speak to him, Lily,” Ambrose hissed at her once they were alone. He tightened his grip on her wrist and she whimpered. She looked down and he loosened the hold. He was actually smiling when she looked up. “What a stroke of luck! If I didn’t know you hate the very thought of being helpful to me in this election, I would think you were going out of your way to help me out, darling.” He turned as he heard someone coming. “Esme,” he nodded. “Stay with Lily. I have to get ready for the dinner.”
“You’re not staying longer?” Lily was very annoyed at his callous behavior. “I nearly lost our child, Neil…”
“Emphasis on the ‘nearly’, my sweet wife,” Ambrose replied as he got to his feet. He kissed her on the forehead. “Get some rest. I want you looking better for the photographers tomorrow.” He held his hands out to frame a headline. “Candidates wife nearly loses child.” He laughed in delight. “Lily you are a treasure.”
“I wish I were dead,” Lily whimpered once he had left the room. “I hate that man, Esme.”
“I think you should start thinking about divorcing his sorry ass,” Esme patted her hand. “You don’t want that kind of person in your life and your child’s life, Lily. He’s always going to be thinking only of what will benefit his image.”
“I wish I could see that happening, Esme,” Lily said softly. She closed her eyes as the tears filled her eyes again. “Something has to happen to make things change, Esme”
Lily spent the next two days in the hospital. Ambrose made a visit each day accompanied by his press manger and a photographer. She hated being put on display like that. Somehow she got through it and went home to a bed in a guest room. For the next two months, she was kept there while Evelyn and Esme amused her so she wouldn’t go insane with boredom.
“Aren’t you ready yet?” Ambrose snapped at her on the night of the election. “We need to be at campaign HQ for the announcements.”
“I’m supposed to be on bed rest, Neil,” Lily protested, even as she got dressed. He put a necklace over her head and she looked at the beautiful filigree gold chain set with sapphires and diamonds. “It’s so lovely.”
“A gift to my beautiful wife,” Ambrose smiled as he met her eyes in the mirror. “Just so you know how much I adore you.”
They went to his campaign headquarters and she was set on a couch along a far wall to watch the fun. The volunteers took turns coming over to see how she was doing. The third one was turning away when Lilly called her back. What Lily told her sent the frightened man running to Ambrose. He said something to the journalist he had been speaking to and hurried over to help Lily out to the car.
“Hold on, darling,” he said as he settled her in the back seat of a patrol car he had kept on standby. “We’ll be at the hospital in no time.”
The people’s concern for her put Ambrose over the top. He made certain he was with her as much as possible through the labor and the photographs of his anguished face when the baby nearly died during the delivery made everyone certain they had elected a man with a great heart. Lily knew better but she was too weak and too frightened for herself and her child, who was in an incubator when they realized his heart was damaged, to make waves.
She would not go home as the doctors suggested two days later. Her son, Neil Edward Ambrose, was still in the incubator. The neo-natalogist was talking about surgery to correct the defect to his heart and Lily was terrified. She spent every moment she could with her son and was there when the decision was made.
“The surgeon is the best, Mrs. Ambrose,” the nurses all assured her. But Lily was numb with worry. She sat in the surgical lounge with Evelyn, Esme, and Edward, and waited for some news. The surgeon came out and she listened to him tell her the baby was fine. She nodded and then fainted dead away.
“You have been a great asset to me, Lily,” Ambrose smiled at her once all the visitors were gone and they were alone in her hospital room. He stroked her hair and kissed her on the forehead. “I should have known that you were too weak to give me healthy children. You’re going to have to go now.”
“Go?” Lily looked at him in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“Poor Lily,” he said as he stroked her cheek. “It broke her heart when she nearly lost the baby. She never recovered.” He let the crocodile tears fall and she knew he was showing her how he would play out her murder. He was not going to let her divorce him, she realized; that would not be good for his image.
“You’re going to kill me?” Lily whimpered. “Ambrose, please…”
“I need a strong wife, Lily,” Ambrose told her; “someone who can stand up to the rigors of political life.” He stroked her hair. “Don’t worry, darling; it will be slow. I want you to linger and make those bleeding hearts in the council to weep. They won’t give me any problems knowing my precious wife if dying on me.”
The door opened and Esme walked in. She smiled at Ambrose and kissed him warmly. Then she turned to smile with pity at Lily.
“I hope you don’t mind, Lily,” Esme said with a satisfied purr in her voice, “but I couldn’t resist your husband. “I’ll be a good mother to your darling son.”
“No!” Lily cried in despair. “Please don’t do this, Neil.” She was frantic now. “I’ll go away. You can marry Esme for all I care, but please don’t kill me.”
“Divorce would not look good for my image, darling,” Ambrose laughed. He looked at Esme. “What do you think, sweetheart; one month? Two?”
“Give her six,” Esme told him. “Your loyal constituents will be quite taken with your loyal and loving support for your dying spouse.”
“Do you see why I love her, Lily?” Ambrose asked her. “She knows how important my political life is to me.”
“And is she aware that you’ll murder her when she is no longer of use to you?” Lily snapped at him. She